Marriage Makes a Difference

The reading in our Couple's Bible from two nights ago talked about the fact that trouble are guaranteed, so it doesn't make sense to the little voice that says "What would you do if...?" because it's a matter of when you cross through the river or the fire, and God will be there with you, so you won't go through it alone.. This forced separation has been really hard on J and I but our being married is one of the primary things helping us get through (besides our love for each other and our long-standing friendship and all :) It's because I know and I believe J feels the same way, that neither of us is ever going to call it quits. For me, it's based on my Catholic disbelief in divorce, I made vows in front of God and man that it's until death, and so it is, and I'm going to hold true to that tennant of my religion. Heheh to be honest it's that and a good dose of stubborness and pride, but that's what we both have. Together we believe, even though the word has been tossed around enough, that 'getting out' isn't an option, so that means that whatever problems crop up, we will deal with them. And that's what makes our marriage so strong.

Anyway, I was reading something on MSN this morning that caught my eye when I logged into Hotmail. It's about the changing face of the American family, it's no longer a Mom, a Dad, 2.5 kids and a dog. Here's an excerpt from the article:
The Marriage Advantage
According to 1999 figures from the Population Resource Center, families in which the mother is the head of the household are, by and large, living on less. Because of the wage gap, female-headed households earn, on average, $26,164 a year; male-headed households earn $41,138 per year; and married households earn $56,827 per year.

Then, there are the more than 1,100 federal benefits that married households can take advantage of during a lifetime. Under the Family and Medical Leave Act, married partners can take leave from work when their spouse gets sick; unmarried partners cannot. Federal Medicaid laws permit only married couples to keep their homes when one partner needs nursing home care; an unmarried partner can lose the house. When a married person dies, the spouse inherits Social Security benefits; an unmarried partner gets nothing.

All told, according to the Los Angeles-based American Association for Single People and cited in an October 2003 Business Week article, with health benefits, retirement, and so on, married families can "earn" 25 percent more than unmarried ones.


If you'd like to read more: The Changing American Family

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

you are Catholic?

Scratchie

slybabyk said...

yes sir I am :)

Anonymous said...

Didn't know that...so am I...Stella Maris is my home church these days.
Scratchie

slybabyk said...

Okay, Sts Peter and Paul is mine but I haven't been in awhile. I've never been good at religiously going to church (pardon the pun) but I do try to 'get God in me' so to speak everyday :) So I read Our Daily Bread online (it's really cool, you get a web link to the precise Bible reading for the day) and then at night I read the Couple's Bible, usually on the phone to Jason as well because it has marriage builder questions that you can work through together. Although there is a Catholic one, we got the non-denominational one first to work through together (I don't want to come off as trying to push Catholicism down Jason's throat!:p) and it's helped us tremendously. I'd recommend it to any married couple :)